El Salvador in Brief

Chronologically, when we left off we had just crossed the border into El Salvador. From there, we spent about a week along the coast (at the beaches of Los Cobanos, El Tunco, El Esteron, and El Tamarindo), where we swam, ate seacritters, and tried not to die of the heat, which was extraordinary and unrelenting. The beaches were a mix of surf town (El Tunco) and fishing village (the rest of them).

At some point, though, the heat became too much and we fled for higher altitudes.

It was still hot in Suchitoto – hot but cute. Suchitoto is what Antigua wishes it still was, in some ways, a sleepy, very pretty little village with some mediocre art galleries and a handful of restaurants but where the main thing to do is sit in the square and people watch (though there aren’t many people). The town shuts down at 8 o’clock. 

During the civil war, Suchitoto was hard hit, but the architecture remains impressive and the town friendly and tranquil.

We’d had it with the heat, so we spent a night in a really pretty hotel overlooking the main square, showering, enjoying air conditioning, and feeling spoiled. (The next night, repenting, we camped in front of the police station like the hobos we are.)

It was still hot, though, too hot. During the middle of the day there was nothing to do but find shade and try not to stick to the chair. So, after a brief stop at El Salvador’s second city, Santa Ana, we left for higher altitudes still: the Parque Nacional Los Volcanes.

Paradise, there: cool air, a giant cloud forest, a beautiful campground all to ourselves, and an incredible sunset over the Pacific, volcanos included.

Not too shabby.

We wandered around the abandoned hotel that was built overlooking the youngest volcano in Central America (abandoned because the volcano suddenly stopped performing its formerly consistent lava-spewing tricks, allegedly on the very day the hotel was completed) and were happy.

The next day, accompanied by not only a guide (required) but also two police escorts (also required), we hiked up Volcano Santa Ana, with views of a beautiful crater lake, several other volcanoes, and the ocean.

Honestly, we didn’t know what to expect at the top. Rumor among other hikers was that there was a little lake in the crater of our volcano, but I didn’t fully believe it. When we reached the crater, after several hours of hiking, both of us literally exclaimed, unintentionally – it was that shocking, and that beautiful. Almost everyone, too, else made some sort of noise when the lake, 3km in circumference, came into view, bubbling slightly in places.

Even the crater itself was impressive - very narrow and almost a little scary because of the extreme winds up there.

The cops, however, were not impressed.

Eventually, we returned to Suchitoto for the start of the city’s month-long art and culture festival. We expected that the sleepy town would have picked up significantly for the event, but it did not. The streets were still pretty, and empty, and the town still slept shortly after the sun set.

We went to the opening night concert, to be performed by an unknown pianist. I’m not sure what we expected, but here’s what we found: (1) that although the façade of the old theatre remained intact, the interior would have been rebuilt and now boasted a corregated tin roof (awesome for acoustics); (2) that the pianist would be a “child prodigy” of 12 or 13 years old, who played technically correct (mostly) but uninspired pieces to thunderous applause; (3) that the concert would open with the singing not only of El Salvador’s national anthem, which lasted for about ten minutes (not an exaggeration) but also of Suchitoto’s own song; and (4) that bats would fly around the theatre during the entire time as this little kid in an ill-fitting, mismatched tux played for us, while feedback from the speakers almost distracted us from the intense heat. We loved it. We left at intermission.

We also tried, during our time at Suchitoto, to find what was supposed to be a fantastic waterfall with two great swimming holes. We failed -- somehow missing the proper trail and wandering around pastures and along creek beds until we found a swimming hole of sorts (without waterfalls of any kind) -- but it was a great hike of the very best rock-hopping, fence-climbing kind.

From Suchitoto, it was a quick trip to the National Forest “El Impossible” before we hit the border and began a truly epic adventure in bureaucracy spanning two days and three countries.

Next up: The Remaining Hobo Settles Down (and Gringos Up): Apartment Hunting in Antigua, or, alternatively, A Post By Chuck From Los Angeles Regarding Culture Shock.